Hitting Send

This being a particularly challenging week, I knew that taking time for myself, my inner child and creativity was more important than ever. I chose to venture out into an unexplored arena by making my Herb Pots! After all, the Universe had so kindly provided the pots, so it was meant to be! Plus, having access to fresh herbs for cooking was going to be so wonderful!

With my sights set upon the purchase of dirt and herbs, I headed for my local home store. The staff was eager to assist in helping me find what I needed. His first question surprised me, “Do you want it to be organic?” Well, yes! Of course! And, truth be told, I am in a place in my life where I am looking for toxic free solutions, whether it be in what I use to clean my house, or my face, I just don’t see the point of allowing poisons into the home and environment. However, as I listened to this man explain all of the problems I would have by going organic, I found myself giving in and purchasing the regular potting soil he highly recommended. Their herb selection left must to be desired, but I picked out some basil, oregano, sage and rosemary and headed home. Man! Did that basil smell good!

When I got home, I thoroughly washed my pots and prepared them for planting. Somehow I got the dirt from my trunk to the pots and began preparations. Golly! The smell was intense! Which had me asking myself, “What is in this dirt?” It felt great to have my hands in earth again, but I found myself questioning the slightly toxic smell. After all, this was the foundation for something I would be ingesting.

Once the herbs were properly planted, I stood back and admired my herb pots. I would be doing a great deal of research to learn what is actually in my potting soil, but the sheer act of taking time for myself, my creativity, and reconnecting with nature was a beautiful gift to give myself and I felt recharged by this loving act. And, my herb pots are lovely! I cannot wait to watch them grow and be able to enhance my everyday meals with the blessings of home grown herbs.

Memorial Day is a United States Federal Holiday commemorating U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. Originally known as Decoration Day, the holiday was established in Waterloo, New York on May 5, 1866. The date was later changed to May 30, as the original date didn’t coincide with the anniversary of any battle. The date was later changed, once again, to the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day Holiday weekend. Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 9 p.m. US Eastern time. Another tradition is to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers thoughtfully place an American flag upon each grave site located in a National Cemetery.

This Holiday led me to calling my grandfather to ask him about his service in World War II and learned that of the 1,000 soldiers with whom he fought, less than one hundred are still alive today. After being rejected by the Air Force, due to less than perfect vision, he was quickly drafted by the U.S. Army on September 24, 1942. My grandmother was three months pregnant with my mother when he was shipped to Indio, CA. He was then sent from base to base around the states, before being shipped overseas on a passenger ship, the Cape Town Castle, bound for England. It was there that he received further training for duties in a Tank Battalion, before being sent to assist in the liberation of France. Here is what he has written about being sent to Omaha Beach:

We would be attached to the First Division, an experienced outfit that had won its spurs in North Africa and Sicily. Though we didn’t know it at the moment, the destination for our people was Omaha Beach.

I had few thoughts of being placed in great danger as D Day approached, for my job as message center sergeant would place me in the rear area with the division headquarters, not up on the front with the combat units. With a location like that I should suffer little stress, and worry only about long range artillery, or air strikes, but not be concerned with the shorter range weapons such as mortars, machine guns and rifle fire.

On June 6 it was announced over the radio and in the newspapers that the invasion had begun. The long waiting was over. Now we only had to learn what had happened to our Battalion of medium tanks. The light tanks were still with us.

It was not until we had been shipped across the channel that we finally discovered the extent of our losses. This event took place some four or five days after D Day, since the big question of whether or not the beach could be held was not answered until that time.

We went over in what was called an LST, or Landing Ship Tank, the same sort of vessel that had been used to ferry our tanks across the water on June 5th and 6th. It was a cumbersome ship, that handled poorly in the choppy waves that were still churning up the channel, following the big storm that had come right after the landings.

We docked at what was called a Mulberry, a huge floating dock that had been towed across from England and installed at the edge of the water on Omaha Beach. It was now receiving the thousands of reinforcements that were being poured into the beachhead, as well as we noncombatants.

Upon arrival I was struck by the solemnity of the men who were awaiting us. Their demeanor was sad, and the strain of the past four days showed mightily on their faces. The bad news came quickly, as we learned of the disaster that had over taken these men in the first hours of the landing.

There are two beautiful tales my grandfather shared with me about his experiences of his time across seas. The first occurred when he entered Paris after the Liberation. He recalled that the joy and appreciation among locals there was something to behold. French people were running up to the American soldiers to offer them wine! Yes, this I can well imagine their doing. The second tale was of his return to Paris exactly fifty years later for the celebratory parade, as his Regent had been invited to participate. It was an evening parade winding through the streets of Paris, ending at City Hall. Now, my grandfather met up with those with whom he fought annually, and would not miss this event either. It is unfortunate that somebody stole his wallet during the parade, but he celebrated and enjoyed despite that. Grandpa, you do us all proud.

I hope that you will all take a moment to honour the soldiers who have given their lives to fight for this country on Monday. In rememberance of their bravery, Blessed Memorial Day.

It’s a gorgeous Spring day. The Sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and hopefully they are further along in their nest building than I am. I once read “You didn’t pack in a day, so don’t expect to unpack in one either,” which is good advice. I threw everything together in a weekend and perhaps therein lies the problem. (grin) To make matters more interesting, everything that I had left in storage a couple of years ago, was taken out of storage and moved in amongst my other stuff into one jumble. It’s pretty cool finding stuff I had forgotten I owned!

I had said that if I’ve lived without it for a couple of years, how could it possibly be anything that I needed? I was wrong. One of the first boxes I came across revealed family photos. A beautiful, framed picture of my mom with her father. A picture of my great-grandmother on her 100th birthday, God/dess bless her. And, the one and only picture I have of my father. How did I ever live without these? In another box I found my baby booties from Mexico! Too cute! The irony is that if I had to salvage only a few things, these would be the ones I would hold dearest to me. That same article warned me not to worry about placing decorations right away, and, honestly, I haven’t any furniture upon which to place them.

My nesting is going way back to basics. Upon hearing of my needs, my mother immediately went out and purchased new sheets and towels for me! I know, she’s the best! I reminded her that I wasn’t sure of what I had, as of yet, but she wasn’t taking any chances. “What colour are your floors?” she asked from her cell, while pouring over potential towels for me. She purchased them and immediately got them in the mail to me. I soon had lovely peach towels with perfect complimentary coloured wash clothes and bathrug to make my bathroom look organized. And the sheets she found are divine! Soft, latte coloured decadence! Thank you, mom!

I have been wanting to create an herb garden for myself for a long time now. I asked mom what I would need. “Pots,” she told me. Get a couple of big pots and fill them with soil and then create an herb pot. Hmmm… Well, it was only a couple of days later that I found two, big, beautifully painted pots on my property which are not being used. YAY! Ask and you shall receive! “Perfect,” my mom declared when I told her of my discovery. She then began explaining which herbs could be placed with which without overgrowth issues. Knowing the ‘what’ I want to grow helped a great deal. Now I get to learn the ‘how’ because it has been awhile since I have done it.

I’m enjoying taking my time creating my nest. Slowly rediscovering my own possessions, and creating those I desire, is a fun adventure. My focus has not been so much upon what the current situation looks like, but upon the potential of my environment. With my energy on what I want my house to look and feel like, I can create it in a flowing and easy manner, just as I do my life. Many blessings to you, my reader. I hope that you too are creating things as you wish for them to be.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Happy 5th of May! So why are we sipping margaritas again? It’s Mexican Independence Day, right? A common misconception, to be sure. But, Mexico declared its intentions to be free from mother Spain on Sept 16, 1810, just over fifty years prior to the Battle of Puebla, which is the real reason we celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Mexico finally gained independence from Spain in 1821 after a difficult and bloody struggle. They went through a number of political takeovers and wars, including the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the Mexican Civil War of 1858, which ruined the national economy. During this period of struggle, Mexico had accumulated heavy debts to several nations, including Spain, England and France. On July 17, 1861 Mexican President Benito Juarez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debts would be suspended for two years. Well, this did not go over so well, and Spain, England and France all sent troops into Mexico to collect the money they were owed. After negotiating settlement of debts, the Spanish and English withdrew. But Napolean III, ruler of France, hoped to build an empire in Mexico, and thus gain a foothold in the Americas, and ordered his troops to attack.

France invaded at the gulf coast of Mexico along the state of Veracruz and began marching toward Mexico City. American President Abraham Lincoln, while sympathetic to the cause, was involved in the Civil War at the time, and was therefore unable to assist. The well outfitted French army, who had not lost a battle in fifty years, encountered strong resistance near Puebla (which is about 100 miles outside Mexico City). Led by Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza, a smaller militia of Mexicans were able to stop the invasion of their country.The victory was a glorious moment of accomplishment for Mexican patriots, which at the time helped to develop a much needed sense of national unity, and is the cause for the historical date’s celebration.

Unfortunately, the victory was short lived. Upon hearing the bad news, Napolean III sent more troops overseas to invade Mexico again. 30,000 more troops and a full two years later, the French won the war and Archduke Maximilian of Austria was made ruler of Mexico. His rule was short lived, from 1864-1867. With the American Civil War over, the US assisted in expelling the French. But, despite the eventual French invasion of Mexico City, Cinco de Mayo honours the bravery and victory of General Zaragoza’s smaller, outnumbered militia at the Battle of Puebla (Batalla de Puebla).

The holiday of Cinco de Mayo is primarily a regional holiday in Mexico, celebrated in the state of Puebla. It is celebrated on a much larger scale in the United States than it is in Mexico. Commercial interests within the US have capitalized on the celebration by advertising Mexican products, with an emphasis on beverages (commercially coined ‘Drinko de Mayo’). The American border towns, and parts of the country with a high population of Mexican heritage honour this holiday with parades, mariachi music, folklorico dancing, and traditions foods. A beautiful culture of gorgeous people shall be in my thoughts as I celebrate and honour this holiday today. Feliz Cinco de Mayo all!